Hard Hitting Analysis of Steelers Football

Tag Archives: Rod Woodson

The Pittsburgh Steelers begin arriving at St. Vincents in Latrobe today bringing the tumultuous 2019 off season to an end. And while Steelers Nation will be treated to interviews and photos of players and coaches, they’ll have to wait a bit before real news surfaces.

Staff writer Tony Defeo likened this period to breaking through traffic congestion while still needing to drive quite a distance before reaching home.

Nonetheless, they’ll be lots of juicy headlines to feast on, and here’s a primer for separating the real news from the false flags.

Contract Action vs Contract Talk

The Steelers have opened camp in the past by announcing contract extensions for Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert. Both are due for new deals, but there’s been speculation about whether Art Rooney II will break from tradition this summer.

One way or another, fans will have some indication of Art Rooney’s inclinations very soon.

Likewise, with Ben Roethlisberger locked up, Joe Haden, Sean Davis and Javon Hargrave are candidates for extensions, but in recent summers the Steelers have trended towards resigning veterans closer to the end of camp rather than the beginning. Talk you hear on this front over the next several days will likely be just that, “talk.”

Watch Out for Those PUP List Surprises

Every year a certain number of players begin camp on the PUP list. Often times this is simply proactive roster management. But at other times it is a red flag. And there are always surprises in the opening PUP announcements.

Casey Hampton began training camp in 2008 on the PUP, but was in fine form when the season started. Maurkice Pouncey has started camp on the PUP and played in full health throughout the season.

In 2015 Bruce Gradkowski’s name appeared on the PUP much to everyone’s surprise given that he’d played as recently as the playoff loss to the Ravens. Bruce Gradkowski got well enough to get activated and play in one preseason game and then his NFL career was done. Senquez Golson began 2015 on the PUP and literally has never played an NFL down.

Ladarius Green and Mike Adams were also surprise PUP additions. Adams never played for the Steelers again and Ladarius Green saw some mid season action before getting reinjured and has been out of football since.

Keep an eye on the PUP list.

Take Run Test Results with a Gain of Salt

Since Bill Cowher’s days as head coach, the Steelers have begun training camp with an annual run test where players must complete a set number of sprints within a certain time determined by their position.

Beyond gauging conditioning, it is often seen as the first test of a player’s mettle.

Yet, readers should take the results with a grain of salt.

Rod Woodson and Carnell Lake at St Vincents. via Steelers.com

The 1994 Steelers infamously finished the season 3 yards short of a go ahead touchdown in the AFC Championship loss to the San Diego Chargers. When the group assembled in Latrobe the next summer, every player successfully completed Bill Cowher’s run test. At the time, if memory serves, Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola remarked that the results indicated the focus and commitment of the players.

Now that 1995 squad did of course reach Super Bowl XXX, but that was only after starting 3-4.

A little later in the Cowher era, the summer of 1999 started with 1996 first round draft pick Jamain Stephens failing the run test.

Bill Cowher and Tom Donahoe cut him on the spot.

At the time the move was hailed as sending a strong signal on the heels of a 7-9 1998 season that ended with a 5 game losing streak. Signal it might have been, but the 1999 team finished 6-10 with Lee Flowers openly accusing unnamed teammates for quitting.

Enjoy the run test, but don’t read too much into the results.

On the flip side, Steelers fans can give thanks that no one will be arriving at St. Vincents via helicopter this sumer….

When talking about their all-time great Steelers players, cornerback Dwayne Woodruff, who played for Pittsburgh from 1979-1990, rarely (okay, never) is mentioned by fans.

While that’s unfortunate, it is perhaps understandable.

After all, Dwayne Woodruff played the overwhelming majority of his career for a Steelers team that was stuck in a decade-plus post-dynasty malaise after winning four Super Bowls in a six-year period in the 1970s.

The same can be said for players like Bryan Hinkle, David Little and Louis Lipps, but Dwayne Woodruff actually had the fortune of coming along just before Pittsburgh’s time atop the football mountain came to an end, as it afforded him the opportunity to earn a ring in his rookie season thanks to a 31-19 victory over the Rams in Super Bowl XIV.

In-fact, Dwayne Woodruff had two key interceptions postseason interceptions on the way to the Super Bowl — one in a 34-14 victory over the Miami Dolphins in the divisional round; and one in a 27-13 win over the Houston Oilers in the AFC title game.

When Dwayne Woodruff drove to Latrobe to announce his retirement prior to the start of training camp in 1991, , he was actually the last remaining player from any of those Super Bowl teams from the ’70s.

But you don’t remember much about Woodruff’s contributions to that Steelers ’79 Super Bowl season because they were relatively minor.

Dwayne Woodruff’s true legacy was his contribution to the team after his rookie year. Beginning in 1981, he became a full-time starter at left cornerback. The former sixth-round pick out of Louisville would remain a fixture on the left side for the next nine seasons, starting a combined 103 games.

For someone who had to play in the shadows of a former dynasty, Dwayne Woodruff had a really respectable career.

In addition to starting a total of 105 games in 12 seasons, Woodruff posted 37 interceptions and returned three for touchdowns. Woodruff had five defensive touchdowns in all, which is pretty exceptional when you consider Rod Woodson, a First Ballot Hall of Famer and one of the best cornerbacks to ever play in the NFL, had six defensive touchdowns in his 10 years as a Steeler.

As per his Wikipedia Page, Woodruff either led or co-led the Steelers in interceptions five times–1982, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1989–and his 37 picks rank fifth all-time in franchise history.

Woodruff’s Wikipedia Page references a key interception that set up an overtime victory over the Bengals in Week 2 of the 1982 season. As a 10-year old boy who had witnessed Cincinnati sweep the once-mighty Steelers in both 1980 and 1981, I can tell you that Week 2 win is one I still cherish to this day. In fact, it was probably the first time I really went crazy as a fan.

Perhaps the greatest testament to Dwayne Woodruff’s skill as a player came during his final season with the Steelers. It the first week of October 1990, following a offensive touchdownless September under Joe Walton‘s offense.

Everyone remembers that week 5 victory over the San Diego Chargers for the offensive explosion that saw rookie Eric Green catch two touchdown passes, with Warren Williams and Barry Foster rushing for two more. (Well, OK, the sum total of people who actually remember that game is probably a lot fewer than “everyone.”)

However Steelers defense played just as an important of a role in that win, and perhaps no player played a bigger role than Dwayne Woodruff.

After injuries to Rod Woodson, Thomas Everett and Larry Griffin left the Steelers with just four healthy defensive backs, Dwayne Woodruff was forced to play right cornerback for the first time in 11 years. As Woodruff relayed to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

When I first went out there I thought I was going to fall down. After 11 years of backpedaling always looking to your right and breaking to your right and all of the sudden everything’s opposite it was strange.

“Strange” it might have been, but Woodruff responded with 2 interceptions, one of which he returned for 51 yards in the Steelers 36 to 14 win over the Chargers.

Dwayne Woodruff Excels in His “Life’s Work.”

It was well-known during his playing days that Dwayne Woodruff was attending law school at Duquesne University.

Dwayne Woodruff actually began practicing law in the latter stages of his football career, and following his retirement from the NFL, he remained in Pittsburgh and founded the firm, Woodruff & Flaherty.

In the 2000s, Woodruff was elected as a judge for the Court of Common Pleas in Allegheny County.

Woodruff is still a judge in Allegheny County, and he and his wife are very involved in charity work in the Pittsburgh community.

Dwayne Woodruff perhaps falls a bit short of qualifying as an all-time Steeler great, and he arrived a little too late to be associated with the dynasty of the 1970s, despite playing on the Super Bowl XIV team.

But if Dwayne Woodruff doesn’t quite qualify as one of the greatest all time Steelers, he certainly ranks up there as one of Pittsburgh’s best cornerbacks. Any All Time Steelers cornerback depth chart would have Mel Blount, Rod Woodson and Jack Butler at the top.

Some fans might rank Ike Taylor as 4th, but there’s a strong argument to suggest that Dwayne Woodruff should occupy that slot on the depth chart.

When you’re neck-and-neck with Ike Taylor on the all-time Steelers corneback depth chart, you’ve certainly authored a career that is worth remembering and honoring. Such is the case with Dwayne Woodruff’s Steelers career.

To milk the metaphor a bit more, Brown and Bell seem intent on keeping the story alive by stinging their former team via social media.

But none of the barbs that Brown and Bell are throwing Ben Roethlisberger’s way change the fact that these two Killer Bees left town without fulfilling their purpose – bringing Lombardi Number Seven back to Pittsburgh.

Maybe that shouldn’t surprise us, given the trio’s nickname.

Sports nicknames entrench themselves with fans when they’re both fun and accurate.

The Steelers Killer Bees were too true to their name. Photo Credit: pegitboard.com

Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine really did churn out division titles, pennants, and championships in machine like fashion. Washington’s “Hogs” really did dominate the line of scrimmage. The Redskin’s “Fun Bunch” was fun.

And so it was with the Steelers Killer Bees, whose nickname was both fun and accurate.

The “killer bees” or Africanized bees were brought to the Americas in the late 1950’s in an attempt to breed bees that produced more honey. They were originally contained in a secure apiary near Rio Claro, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. But the escaped and headed north!

An urban legend was born.

The phenomenon reached critical mass in popular culture the 1970’s. Although their stings weren’t worse than normal bees, “killer bees” were more aggressive, and more likely to swarm. It was too much for Hollywood to resist.

Several (bad) killer bees movies were shot. If memory serves, a Super Friends episode plot line revolved around the “killer bees.” And I even had to read a story about the coming threat of the “Killer Bees” in one of my elementary school reading books.

When the killer bees arrived in the United States in the 1980’s, their buzz was much worse than their bite.

Kind of like the Steelers Killer Bees.

Injury = Steelers Killer Bees Insecticide

Shortly after the Steelers January 2015 playoff loss to the Ravens, a fellow Steelers blogger, who is no homer, sent me a sort of “chin up” email, assuring me that by mid-October the Steelers offense would be “Blowing other teams out of the water.”

As others, such as the Post-Gazette’sJoe Starkey have pointed out, injuries and suspensions are the main culprit behind Steelers Killers failure meet expectations. Ben, Bell, Brown and Byrant only played together for a handful of quarters in 2015. Le’Veon Bell missed games to suspension in 2015 and 2016 and Martavis Bryant missed all of 2016 due to suspension.

The Steelers should have had the 3 Killer Bees on the field together for 6 playoff games.

Instead, Ben, Bell and Brown only managed 3 complete games and the first quarter of the AFC Championship loss to the Patriots together. They won 2 of those three, and only won 1 of the other 3 contests.

Injury was the ultimate insect repellent even when all 3 Killer Bees remained healthy.

The 2017 Steelers defense was flashing signs of being good, if not very good before injuries to Joe Haden and Ryan Shazier. But of course we know what happened to the defense without Shazier. For whatever else you want to say about the Jacksonville disaster, Antonio Brown, Le’Veon Bell (and Martavis Bryant) did their part.

Its been pointed out that Ben Roethlisberger led the Steelers to victory in Super Bowl XL and Super Bowl XLIII before Bell and Brown even arrived on the scene. Perhaps he can do it again.

As the saying goes, if I was in an alley fight, and I had to pick a Pittsburgh Steeler to have my back, center Maurkice Pounceywould likely be at the top of my list.

I’m sure the same goes for many of Maurkice Pouncey’s teammates–at least in a metaphorical sense, if not literal.

It has been known for quite some time that, in addition to ably filling the footsteps of Ray Mansfield, Mike Webster, Dermontti Dawson and Jeff Hartings by being the latest in a long line of great Steelers centers (seven Pro Bowls and almost certainly destined for immortality in Canton, Ohio, when his career is finally over), Maurkice Pouncey embodies the word “teammate.”

It’s also no secret he’s one of the true leaders of the Steelers locker room, a player that just about every teammate who has known him during his career has respected and admired.

There’s also no question how much Maurkice Pouncey appreciates being a Pittsburgh Steeler.

While not as vocal about it as other Steeler greats such as Mean Joe Greene and Hines Ward, there’s no doubt Pouncey has always cared about the Steeler shield–the brand–and makes sure others show the same respect and love for the organization that he does.

At the tail-end of the 2017 season, shortly after legendary outside linebacker and fan-favorite James Harrison was released from the team, Maurkice Pouncey was quick to set the record straight on the sentiment that James Harrison was a victim and treated unfairly.

Harrison quickly signed a deal with the Patriots, Pittsburgh’s nemesis for many years. This action seemed to really irk Harrison’s old teammates, especially Maurkice Pouncey, who said Harrison ‘erased‘ his Steelers legacy.

It’s important to point out that Pouncey later clarified his statement and softened his stance on Harrison’s ultimate legacy in Pittsburgh. But there the Steelers were, in a PR alley fight with James Harrison, the media and the fans, and who was the first person to come to the rescue? Maurkice Pouncey.

Maybe that’s why I’m not surprised Pouncey was really aggressive just last week when his Steelers–specifically quarterback Ben Roethlisberger — were being dragged through the mud by two recent former teammates —Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, both of whom accused Roethlisberger of being the real problem in the Steelers locker room.

“I’ve been with Ben going on 10yr,” Pouncey said on Wednesday via his Instragram page. ” I swear on my kids he is a true leader!! sucks to see players who leave and are mad at the organization now try and point fingers like they are perfect! But this is the world we live in now!”

Spoken like a loyal Pittsburgh Steeler and a true team leader.

Will anyone grant Maurkice Pouncey, who, again, has quite the career resume, a national interview to get his positive take on Roethlisberger’s leadership qualities and Pittsburgh’s locker room situation?

Not likely, not when it’s become oh so chic to bash the Steelers on a national level. Not when people take as gospel the words of an All-Pro receiver but not those of an All-Pro center who has been hiking the ball to Roethlisberger for years.

No doubt Pouncey had some issues earlier in his career involving the law and immaturity. He also seemed to alienate the fan base a bit after suffering two season-ending injuries (as if that were his fault). However, Pouncey has not only put to rest his reputation for being injury prone. Much like Rod Woodson, who had some brushes with the law in the early portion of his Steelers career, Maurkice Pouncey has grown into a mature person and, by all accounts, a model citizen.

Fans have always demanded loyalty from their players, which is why the disdain for those who would rather hold out of training camp for more money or go play for another while trashing their previous one is so palpable.

But if you’re looking for loyalty — if you’re looking for someone who is pretty darn proud to be a Pittsburgh Steeler — look no further than Maurkice Pouncey.

The Steelers history against the New Orleans Saints has Pittsburgh taking a 7-8 record down to the Big Easy where the Steelers are 4-5 vs. 3-3 at Heinz Field and Three Rivers Stadium.

As the Steelers prepare for their 10th trip to New Orleans for a game that could make or break their 2018 season, here is a look at highlights of the Steelers last 31 years of history against the Saints.

1987 – Steelers Playoff Potential Nothing More than a Tease

The 1987 Steelers were looking to build on a 6-4 record as Pittsburgh was very much alive in the AFC Central playoff picture during that strike shortened season. The Steelers took a 14-3 lead into the locker room at half time on the strength of a Dwayne Woodruff pick six and a Walter Abercrombie touchdown.

However, Pittsburgh faltered in the 2nd half as the Saint scored 17 unanswered points, aided by 3 Mark Maloneinterceptions. The Saints took an intentional safety at the end of the game to bring Pittsburgh to within 4, but the Steelers could not mount a comeback.

The game was typical of the 1987 Steelers who teased playoff potential but ultimately fell short against a quality Saints team.

1990 – Joe Walton’s Ineptitude on Full Display in Steelers win

The 1990 Steelers entered the game with a 7-6 record and an an offense floundering under Joe Walton’s mismanagement. And this game shows just how badly Joe Walton had neutered the 1990 Steelers offense, as a single Gary Anderson field goal were the only points it could score for 3 quarters.

1993 – Rod Woodson’s Career Day

The 1993 Steelers started 0-2 leading many to question whether Cowher Power’s 1992 debut had been a mirage. But Pittsburgh won its three games, leading up to a showdown with the then undefeated Saints.

Rod Woodson intercepted Wade Wilson’s opening pass and returned it 63 yards for a touchdown. Two series later Rod Woodson picked off Wilson again. On Pittsburgh’s next procession, Neil O’Donnell hit Barry Foster for a 20 yard touchdown pass, and the Steelers were leading 14-0 in less than 8 minutes.

And Pittsburgh was just warming up.

By half time the Steelers were up 24-0, and the Saints hadn’t even managed a first down. Carnell Lake intercepted Wade Wilson’s first pass of the second half, which made way for two more Gary Anderson field goals, followed by an Eric Green touchdown.

Wade Wilson had arrived in Pittsburgh as the NFL’s number 3 passer, only to have the Steelers intercept him three times and limit him to 6 completions on the day as Donald Evans, Levon Kirkland, Joel Steed and Kevin Greene sacked him 5 times.

While the 1993 Steelers would ultimately underachieve, this game revealed that their championship potential was real.

2002 – Poor Defense Dooms Tommy Gun’s First Start

The 2002 Steelers had started 0-2 and only won in week three thanks to a blocked field goal plus Bill Cowher’s decision to bench Kordell Stewart late in the game for Tommy Maddox.

But the Steelers defense gave up 13 points early in the game before Tommy Maddox and Plaxico Burress connected to get Pittsburgh on the board before the half. The Steelers mounted a spirited effort in the 2nd half with Jerome Bettis, Hines Ward and Terance Mathis scoring touchdowns, the but Saints scored 13 points to keep ahead of the Steelers.

The game confirmed, if there had been any doubt, that the once vaunted Steelers secondary was a shell of its former self.

2006 – Ben Roethlisberger vs Drew Brees I

The 2006 Steelers took a Super Bowl Hangover induced 2-6 record to New Orleans to face the 6-2 Saints. Fireworks ensued as the Saints and Steelers fought to a 24 to 17 half time score. The Steelers fought back in the second half, scoring as Ben Roethlisberger connected for a touchdown to Cedric Wilson in the air as Willie Parker ran for two more on the ground.

Deuce McAllister put the Saints within striking distance of a comeback with a fumble returned for a touchdown with 8:31 remaining in the 4th quarter. But the Steelers defense burned nearly 4 minutes off of the clock, and closed the game as Tyrone Carter and Ryan Clark teamed up to end a Saints comeback effort with a forced fumble and recovery.

The game marked the 6-2 rebound of the 2006 Steelers that would ultimately allow Bill Cowher to retire during a non-losing season.

2010 – Ben Roethlisberger vs Drew Brees II

If the first battle between Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees was a shootout, their second meeting took on the character of a slug fest.

Both teams were scoreless during the entire 1st quarter, and when they both got on the board in the 2nd quarter it was only with field goals. In the second half New Orleans put 10 points on the board, but the Steelers moved to within three on a Rashard Mendenhall touchdown.

However, the Steelers defense couldn’t hold on, as Drew Brees connected with Lance Mooreat just over the two minute mark to give the Saints a 10 point lead. Ben Roethlisberger attempted to rally the Steelers and got them to mid field but Leigh Torrence intercepted him as he attempted to hit Mike Wallace.

Lot’s of commentators suggested that this loss spelled gloom and doom for the 2010 Steelers, but the tam of course finished in Super Bowl XLV.

The offensive line gave him time, Heath Miller and Antonio Brown served as reliable targets, but Ben Roethlisberger’s passes were too often off target. Roethlisberger threw two picks, but that number could have easily been double.

Drew Brees only threw for 257 yards, but he threw 5 touchdowns, as an unknown Kenny Stills lit up the Steelers defense for 162 yards.

This late November loss to the Saints seemed to signal that Pittsburgh was nothing more than average, but the 2014 Steelers rebounded for 4 straight wins

The Steelers history vs the New Orleans Saints offers a mixed bag, with both some impressive wins and tough losses. But none of the outcomes had season-defining implications. Today’s contest could be quite different in that respect.

The “Watch Tower’s” lights have been out for a while as material has abounded but time has been in short supply. However a recent player-pundit spat prompts us this special edition.

Ryan Switzer in the Steelers win over Tampa Bay

The Inherent Tension Between Journalists and Athletes

An inherent tension defies the relationship between sports journalists and the athletes they cover. Journalists, unlike us bloggers, job depends on getting athletes to talk to them. But by the same token, a journalist’s credibility with his or her readers depends on them writing objectively about those athletes.

And by definition, it is inevitable that at some point are going to rub the men in the locker room the wrong way.

Usually these tensions remain below the surface, although writers like Jim Wexell frequently share insights into how easy or difficult it is to talk various players. Sometimes the public gets wind of these tensions.

Greg Lloyd stopped talking with much of the local media in the mid-1990’s, and John Stiegerwald even described how Greg Lloyd once physically shoved him out of the way while he was trying to interview another player. If memory serves, Rod Woodson barred reports from the Tribune-Review from a press conference when he announced he was leaving Pittsburgh.

More recently Ben Roethlisberger blew off an interview with reporters who overheard him explain “I ain’t gonna win no Rooney award anyway.” (The post-Midgeville Roethlisberger did in fact win The Chief Award a year later.) And just last summer Antonio Brown blasted Ed Bouchette over an injury report.

But if tension is natural, it doesn’t mean that it can’t be resolved, as Ryan Switzer and 93.7 The Fan’s Colin Dunlap demonstrate.

Switzer – Dunlap Turn Twitter Spat into Charity Fundraising Challenge

If you’re reading this you know that the Steelers 20-16 win over the Jaguars came down to a hectic and heroic goal line situation set up a James Conner drop and by several Ben Roethlisberger JuJu Smith-Schuster hookups.

The target of Ben Roethlisberger’s penultimate pass was Ryan Switzer, prompting Colin Dunlap to make this observation:

However, rather than given into the corrosive nature of bad blood, Colin Dunlap and Ryan Switzer decided to do something constructive:

Talking about sports is what I do. Sometimes that involves criticism. It’s my goal to never make it personal. @Switz felt I did, I felt I didn’t. It bothers me and demands olive branch.That said, for every catch he has rest of season I’ll donate $20 to his charity($500 min).

The two opened their challenge to the public and are inviting everyone to join in which they can do via the Pittsburgh Children’s hospital page. Their orginal goal was to raise $5000 dollars, but as of 4:00 pm Eastern on Saturday November 24th it appears they’ve raised over $10,000 already, with team mate T.J. Watt donating $1000 dollars.

While this won’t be the last time a journalist butt’s heads with one of the Pittsburgh Steelers, in this time of tension and violence both Ryan Switzer and Colin Dunlap win Watch Tower Kudos for finding a way to transform conflict into an opportunity to raise money for UPMC Children’s Hematology/Oncology Department.

Excellent. Football news should focus on what happens between the lines, not around them.

But this is a new and a strange development as Mike Tomlin explains:

You know how it is. This is an interesting time, drones and so forth, you know? We’ll do what we have to do to prepare and be ready to play. Play on a level of fair competitive playing field

Fair enough. But if Mike Tomlin is worried about the Bill Belichick’s of the NFL spying on him, wouldn’t he be wiser to combat today’s technological threat by snatching a page from Steelers history?

Chuck Noll (may have) had the same concerns. No, he did have to worry about drones, but given his love of both flying and cameras, he almost certainly could have predicted the problem. Regardless, The Emperor had a solution:

I first learned of this in the 80’s when a TV news story on cheating in pro sports, concluded with shot from Steelers practice and a reporter observing “…Some teams, like the Pittsburgh Steelers, still practice with no numbers.”

The offense wore Gold and the defense work Black, and that was that. Chuck Noll’s motives were less clear. On a summer trip to Pittsburgh in the late 80’s or early 1990’s I remember reading in the Pittsburgh Press or Post-Gazette that Noll practiced with no numbers because he wanted coaches to treat all players equally.

Stories of Noll of spending valuable practice time correcting a rookie’s mistake, only to cut him days later, are legendary. Likewise, Noll never hesitated to correct a veteran, as he did with Andy Russell, the only Pro Bowler he inherited from Bill Austin.

In the ‘80s the Steelers and Redskins held annual training camp scrimmages which Washington’s WTTG Channel 5 broadcast. Years later, on WCXR’s “Harris in the Morning” Steve Buckhantz recounted how one summer Chuck Noll decided that the Steelers would scrimmage without numbers.

Buckhantz explained to Paul Harris and “Dave the Predictor” that “I had Franco Harris running for touchdowns, yet didn’t know it was him” as Steelers PR staffer would sit behind him in the broadcast booth try to determine who the player was based on his body type.

At the end of the day, its doubtful that Mike Tomlin would follow Chuck Noll’s example, although numberless jersey’s would be cheaper than tarping off the south end of the practice field, and wouldn’t practicing without numbers eliminate the problem of drones flying directly above the field instead of just close to it?

The Pittsburgh Steelers preseason tonight against the Philadelphia Eagles. Most fans will welcome the return to the gridiron after a 2017 that ended so abruptly.

However, every year the “enduring preseason football” griping gets louder.

Taking our cue from the late Ken Beatrice, season ticket holders who must pay major league prices to see minor-league talent have beef. As for the rest of us? Well, that’s why we have our annual “Eat your liver and your Brussels sprouts and enjoy preseason football” article.

So if you have a case of the preseason football humbug, Mike Hilton’s story will cure what ails you.

Fearing injury, coaches are loath to play starters in preseason. And when stars do suffer injuries, the howls to shorten preseason get louder. Michael Vick’s broken leg in the 2003 preseason offers a perfect example.

And seeing starters injured in preseason, as happened to David DeCastro and Sean Spence, is difficult.

But that doesn’t change the fact that calls to shorten or eliminate preseason games are short sighted, and Mike Hilton shows why.

Mike Hilton’s 2017 Preseason Campaign

Doing it on the practice field and doing it under game conditions are two different things. Word was at the end of 2013 that wide receiver Justin Brown was an up and comer based on his work on the Steelers practice squad. Brown did earn a 2014 roster spot, but couldn’t produce in games and was gone before Christmas.

Justin Hunter is another player who practices well, but still hasn’t proven it in games.

All of this begs the question: Would Mike Hilton have gotten these chances in a shortened preseason schedule?

Maybe, maybe not.

If Mike Tomlin, Keith Butler and Carnell Lake only had two preseason game might their focus have been on getting reps for Ross Cockrell and Coty Sensabaugh, their prospective numbers 2 & 3 corners? If not, health allowing, reps for draft picks like Cam Sutton and Brian Allen would get priority over street free agents like Mike Hilton.

Fortunately, Mike Hilton got those reps, proved he belonged on Pittsburgh’s roster so much that a case could have been made that Hilton, and not T.J. Watt deserved the Steelers rookie of the… er um the Joe Greene Great Performance award.

Steelers Football’s Back – Enjoy It

Times change. A generation ago preseason served as the water fountain sitting at the end of a football desert. Today YouTube, Steelers.com, Twitter and Facebook feed us our year round football fix.

That doesn’t change the fact that preseason remains a valuable proving ground for young men seeking to live a dream.

What is it like to witness the end of one era and the beginning of another? Every journalist dreams of the opportunity. Fate afforded the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’sEd Bouchette the chance to do just that in 1992 when Pittsburgh Steelers transitioned from Chuck Noll to Bill Cowher.

Except there was a “catch.”

The devastating 1992 pressman and drivers’ strike that shut down the Pittsburgh Press and Post-Gazette left Ed Bouchette without a paper to print his stories. Fortunately, the Post-Gazette kept Ed Bouchette employed as part of their skeleton staff, and Sagamore Publishing approached him about chronicling both the end of Chuck Noll’s tenure and the beginning of Bill Cowher’s.

The result was Dawn of a New Steel Age, a 214 page volume published in 1993.

Bill Cowher on the cover of Ed Bouchett’s Dawn of a New Steel Age.

In a market awash with books on the Pittsburgh Steelers, you’ll find some that are excellent (think Their Life’s Work and/or His Life’s Work), some that are good (think The Ones that Hit the Hardest), others that are average (think the Greatest 50 Plays in Pittsburgh Steelers Football History) and some that are downright awful (think Jack Lambert: Tough As Steel.)

Then there are the iconic books, ones that serve as a touchstone for their respective generations.

Think Roy Blount’s Three Bricks Shy of a Load. Truthfully, people don’t discuss Dawn of a New Steel Age in such reverential tones as they do with Three Bricks. Perhaps they should, because Bouchette’s book really is that good.

Dawn Deftly Weaves Steelers Present with Steelers Past

I remember reading Steelers Digest’s profile of Dawn in 1993, but in those pre-Amazon days getting a copy outside of Pittsburgh was hard. However, I spied a copy at Station Square just before the Steeler ’96 home game against the Bengals, and it has served as a reference book ever since.

Bouchette divides his book neatly into 20 chapters, seamlessly weaving a tale where each chapter tells an independent story that contributes its unique elements to a unified narrative.

One critique of journalistic prose is that it too often sacrifices historical context for immediacy In contrast, too many history books offer dry recitations of fact that fail to convey a sense of present, or the flavor of the moments they’re recounting.

Bouchette’s Dawn of a New Steel Age does the opposite.

A reader who picks up the book today can follow the progression of the 1992 Steelers and gain what it was like to experience the birth of Cowher Power as it happened, while understanding just how those moments fit into the context of Steelers history.

Bill Cowher in 1992. Photo Credit: thisisopus.com

That’s a more difficult feat that it may seem. Jim O’Brien’s books on the Steelers deliver excellent insights, yet they often read like collections of individual stories that don’t from a central narrative.

Another writer charged with telling the same tale could have easy fallen back on “The game passed Noll by and Bill Cowher offered a breath of fresh air.” But Bouchette doesn’t do that, and because of that the Dawn of a New Steel Age succeeds in making unique contributions to Steelers history.

Chuck Noll and Mark Malone.

Why DID the Steelers slip into mediocrity in the 1980s? Poor drafting is the answer, but Dawn of a New Steel Age delivers insights into WHY the Steelers drafting slipped so badly. Art Rooney Jr. touched on this a bit in his book Ruanaidh, as did Michael MacCambridge and Gary Pomerantz.

Bouchette arrived sooner, however, and in many ways still tells a more complete story than those who follow.

For his own part, Bouchette isn’t ready to describe that part of the book as “ground breaking,” but upon re-reading this chapter he asserts, “I will say that maybe some of Noll’s best coaching jobs were during the strike of 1987 and the 1989 season.”

While a Dawn of a New Steel Age offers the appropriate deference to what Noll accomplished with limited talent in the 1980’s, one thing stands out: the implicit criticisms made of Noll that many of Bouchette’s subjects offer.

And that’s another strength of the book. The breadth and depth Bouchette’s interviews are unparalleled. Bouchette managed to talk to the ball boys to lesser known Rooney brothers and everyone in between.

When asked if he would get similar access should he try to write a similar book today, Bouchette explains explaining, ‘No, I would not get nearly the access. We all had open access to all the assistant coaches and could sit down with them in their offices and chat. Same with guys like Tom Donahoe. Dan Rooney always was great.”

Bouchette continues, “Today, I might be limited to the players and a few interviews with Art Rooney and Mike Tomlin, perhaps Kevin Colbert.”

Bill Cowher Arrives in Pittsburgh

As the title suggests, Dawn of a New Steel Age doesn’t focus on the 80’s, but rather on the birth of the Cowher-era. And the insights Bouchette delivers on the 1992 Steelers are just as rich as his reflections on the 80’s. To that end, Bouchette devotes full chapters to the 1992’s key actors: Rod Woodson, Greg Lloyd, Hardy Nickerson, Neil O’Donnell, and Barry Foster.

Bill Cowher & Dan Rooney, January 1992. Photo Credit: Steelers.com

Bouchette also offers one of the first profiles of Art Rooney II.

Art Rooney II is now of course the face of the Rooney family, a role he’s occupied since Dan Rooney left to serve as ambassador to Ireland in 2009. But in 1992 Art Rooney II had only recently assumed the title of Vice President of the Steelers and still maintained an active law practice.

Bouchette also had the presence of mind to foreshadow the 2008 Steelers ownership restructuring. As he explains, “I also wanted to look into the crystal ball to see what might become of the Steelers franchise because Dan Rooney and I had talked about it previously.”

Even in the early 1990’s, the Rooney brothers “… did not want to see ownership splinter among all their kids and grandkids.” To that end, Bouchette got Pat Rooney on the record predicting, “’Art’s going to have to buy out the partners,’ and I wrote that sources said Dan is preparing to do just that. So, I would say I came damn close to predicting what would happen 15 years later.”

Bill Cowher, Perhaps as Steelers Nation has Never Seen Him

Bill Cowher is of course the protagonist in a Dawn of a New Steel Age. And Cowher’s presence and influence on the momentous events of the Steelers 1992 season are evident on every page of Bouchette’s book.

Bouchette quotes Cowher liberally, and fans who remember the rest of the 90’s or the 00’s will find a more affable Cowher in the pages of Dawn.

Bill Cowher at Three Rivers Stadium. Photo Credit: NFL via WTAE.com

When asked if 1992 represented a sort of honeymoon between the press and Bill Cowher, Bouchette agrees, detailing, “… The newspaper strike helped, as Cowher so often points out. We had our moments, especially in 1993. Bill was an interesting coach to cover. He had a range of emotions and did not hide them.”

In his autobiography Dan Rooney observed hiring a new coach almost forces a franchise to start from zero. He would know. Dan Rooney watched in agony has as Art Rooney Sr. cycled through 11 head coaches while failing to win a playoff game in 4 decades.

Dan followed by winning 6 Super Bowls with 3 coaches in 4 decades.

The 1992 Pittsburgh Steelers surprised the NFL. Many pre-season publications ranked them in the mid-20’s in an era when the league only had 28 teams. Bouchette was surprised however, submitting that “The Steelers of 1990 and 1991 were not terrible and I believe we all recognized the disconnect between the coaching staff and players during that period.”

Bill Cowher may not have reset the franchise to zero, but he did author a new era for Steelers football.

A Dawn of a New Steel Age captures that process in real time. Bill Cowher’s arrival spurred changes from top to bottom in the Steelers organization, including their approach to the draft, the way they practiced, even how players conditioned. Bouchette documents it all.

When asked what a Steelers fan can gain by reading Dawn of a New Steel Age in 2018, Bouchette suggests “A perspective because it is now a history book. I thought I detailed pretty well the end of Noll’s coaching career and why it came to an end, the start of Cowher’s career as a head coach, the culture of the Steelers and how they were to survive into the future.”

That’s an accurate self-assessment, but perhaps one that does not go quite far enough.

After the 1992 Steelers upset road win over the Kansas City Chiefs, Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola declared, “Something special is happening to this team and this city.” He was right. 1992 was a special time to be a Steelers fan.

Dawn of a New Steel Age is a special book because its pages capture and preserve the energy that awoke Steelers Nation in 1992 for all who read it.

For those of you too young to remember, and for those old enough to never forget, Nintendo’s Tecmo Bowl and Super Tecmo Bowl were the Madden of its day. Oh, Madden co-existed with the Tecmo series, but John Madden Football (as it was called then) was more of a PC game.

The Apple IIc John Madden Football version was more of a football strategy game than a live-action video game.

Tecmo Bowl beat those early Madden incarnations by a mile. The game play of the original Tecmo Bowl had its faults. It didn’t field 11 players, only offered a 4 plays menu, only featured 12 teams, and players could get bounced from the screen when your opponent made a big play.

Super Tecmo Bowl fixed those problems, incorporated the entire NFL, expanded play selection, and offered more realistic game play. The original Super Tecmo Bowl came out in 1991, so it was based on the 1990 season. It was a good game, yet it was not terribly kind to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The main reason?

Bubby Brister’s Super Tecmo Bowl rating sucked.

Now let’s be clear folks. If the Bubster did suffer from being on the short end of Super Tecmo Bowl ratings stick, its not quite the same level of football “injustice” as Ben Roethlisberger going for so long without getting recognition as an elite quarterback.

1990 was Bubby Brister’s third year as a starter, which when quarterbacks evaluations shift from potential to performance and Bubby’s limitations were becoming clear by then.

Clearly Bubby Brister was no Joe Montana, but among others, Super Tecmo Bowl lists Marc Wilson, John Fourcade, Ken O’Brien, Erik Wilhelm, Jeff Carlson(who?), and Tom Tupa (a punter for heaven sakes) above Brister. This despite the fact that Brister had a playoff game win on his resume, and despite the fact that no General Manager in the NFL would have picked any of the players above Brister in 1990.

Indeed, as Steelers fans who played Super Tecmo Bowl learned, Rick Strom WAS in fact a better starter than Brister. (If you’ll believe, there’s actually a Super Tecmo Bowl fan forum where Strom vs. Brister gets debated. And to be fair Super Tecmo Bowl listed Greg Lloyd as the 5th best linebacker, and this was long before Greg Lloyd won national recognition.)

Ah, how times have changed.

Back then we didn’t have the internet or social media to launch protests over such slights. After walking to school uphill (both ways!) barefoot in the snow, we simply had to buckle our chin straps, grab our game controllers and play the hand dealt to us. Which wasn’t too bad.

Yours truly once led the Pittsburgh Steelers to victory in a college dorm room Super Tecmo Bowl Championship with Rick Strom starting for the bulk of the season. It wasn’t until reaching the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers, Bubby Brister came off the bench to hook up with Louis Lipps to get Gary Anderson into field goal range to force over time.